A Conversation in the Headmaster's Office, The Unofficial History of the Sorting Hat (Double-Length Chapter)

The Sorting Hat and Phineas are a story from over a hundred years ago; I didn't expect the Sorting Hat to be so vengeful.

But back to the point, Dumbledore has actually been paying close attention to Ezio. He has conducted some investigations into Ezio, but he couldn't get deep at all. As an Assassin Master, Giovanni is absolutely top-tier when it comes to concealment. Their identities are so ordinary to the outside world that no one would even glance at them if they dropped on the ground. Dumbledore, who can command the winds and rain in the wizarding world, hit a wall on this matter.

However, he wasn't so oblivious that he couldn't recognize the profession Ezio and his father were engaged in, and it was precisely because of this that he paid so much attention to Ezio.

"How do you feel after arriving at Hogwarts? Does this place satisfy you?" Dumbledore brought up the topic, though his purpose remained unclear for the moment.

"Most things here satisfy me, especially the three meals a day. I was truly sick of fish and chips and sandwiches; British food is just too terrible. Fortunately, before coming to school, I mostly ate French cuisine. London has the most and the best Michelin-starred French restaurants in the world."

"Would you like me to lend you a few membership cards? I can recommend some great restaurants for you to try, and I'll cover the bill." Ezio isn't short on money; the savings in the accounts Giovanni left him have eight zeros at the end—more than enough to spend in a lifetime.

"Thank you very much, but I'm afraid I only have time to try them during the holidays." A trace of regret appeared on Dumbledore's face. "The last time I tasted it was back in Paris. Although it wasn't the Michelin restaurants you mentioned, Nicolas is a man who knows how to enjoy life. His house-elf, like him, has lived for six centuries. I can guarantee that there isn't a second perfect chef in the world more proficient in French cuisine than him."

"Nicolas Flamel?" Ezio is no stranger to this name. He also has a high passion for alchemy, but unfortunately, as a profound magical discipline, alchemy requires a sufficiently deep magical foundation and in-depth research into runic studies just to get started. The threshold for entry is very high. In that month and a half, Ezio managed to devour a large chunk of the school's Charms and Potions textbooks, which was already his limit; he didn't have time to practice many things.

"Alchemy is a fascinating discipline, but unfortunately, I don't meet the requirements for entry yet. Although the wizarding world is currently stagnant, the crystallization of wisdom accumulated over thousands of years still requires a lifetime of study and research."

Ezio sighed as he spoke; magic is truly too charming.

"Indeed, magic is something that makes it hard for anyone to say 'I have fully mastered it' even after a lifetime. Even Nicolas modestly says he just has more time accumulated than others. Even after creating the Philosopher's Stone, he never thought he had touched the ultimate essence of magic."

"If he had touched it, that would be a terrifying thing." Ezio shook his head. "The future and the unknown—that is the most beautiful scenery. If one day we suddenly saw that the road ahead had reached its end, I suspect that would be the beginning of despair."

"So I will put my limited energy into limited things. I will only choose to study and research things I am interested in and things I deem necessary to learn."

"Do you mind if I start skipping classes in my first year, Professor?"

Ezio winked at Dumbledore. "There are some classes I'm not interested in, like Astronomy, History, and so on."

"But this is a necessary process for understanding magic, so I must decline your request." Dumbledore shook his head with a smile. "However, if you can guarantee that you will achieve a passing grade or higher on the end-of-term exams, I think the professors can accept your self-study."

As a Gryffindor alumnus, Dumbledore naturally has a side that doesn't follow the rules. "But how to convince your professors will be up to you."

"Perhaps I could apply to take the final exams early?" Ezio shrugged. It's a clumsy method, but it's also the most direct and effective one.

"Professors are always more tolerant of smart and polite students." Dumbledore looked into Ezio's eyes and then spoke softly: "To be honest, at your age, being able to rationally restrain yourself and choose to do certain things is actually a rare trait. People always hope to get more, whether it's knowledge, time, or something else."

"Because greed and acting on impulse are absolute taboos for me." Ezio spoke slowly. "I suspect you might be curious about what profession I was engaged in before, Professor."

"It is an assassin, a killer—a high-risk profession that requires rigorous training, cultivating instinctive reactions from the moment one begins to babble, and a long time to hone one's skills. From the moment I walked into Giovanni's home, one of my feet was already on a tightrope. But I don't regret it; in fact, I enjoy it."

"Life cannot lack adventure, otherwise it has no meaning, right?"

"Indeed, the brilliance of life is always focused on those moments that make our hearts beat faster." Dumbledore nodded. Ezio's self-introduction was exactly as he had expected; he wasn't surprised.

"I have already entered this dangerous trade, and my future will continue to be spent walking on a tightrope. Learning magic is like tying a safety line for me, but magic is not omnipotent."

Ezio said slowly. He had probably guessed the reason Dumbledore steered the conversation here. When he mentioned Nicolas Flamel earlier, he had intentionally guided the topic in this direction.

Dumbledore still doesn't trust him, and is perhaps even more vigilant. Upon noticing this subtle change, Ezio knew what he should do.

His current reliance on Hogwarts is high: first for his own safety, second for the knowledge and resources here, and third because this place can become a channel for him to obtain information to investigate the death of Giovanni. His goal has always been very clear.

"I am destined to die on my own path of adventure one day. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps next year, or perhaps some day in the future."

"For an assassin, death is never something that frightens us. From the moment I made up my mind to take another's life, I was prepared for where I might die. And Professor, don't you think that living for too long is actually a form of torture?"

"People come into this world in a daze, and most people die in a daze. But I am not reconciled to such an ending. All I can do is let myself die clearly, dying on the path I have pursued all my life. Just like Giovanni, he died on the path he pursued his whole life, the path toward his dreams. Perhaps before he died, he might have truly touched the dream he longed for."

"Then have you thought about what you want to pursue in the future?" Dumbledore asked gently, his voice calm and soft.

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted." Ezio whispered the Creed of the Assassins. "I want to do my best to see the real world that belongs to me, the world in my eyes, to exercise my own agency and carry out my will."

"I have rented this world until the day I die, and until that day comes, I am the only protagonist. Life, of course, must be magnificent."

"You were worried that I might become the next Voldemort, weren't you?" Ezio looked at the blue eyes behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles. "But I have no interest in that kind of boring, lingering existence. The immortality he pursues is just a joke in my eyes. I am an assassin, am I not? As for killing him, I'm actually quite interested. If someone is willing to pay for it, I'd be even happier."

"I know Voldemort might not be dead."

Ezio opened his pouch, put on a dragon-hide glove, and took out an ominous-looking book from a separate compartment.

"I bought this at Borgin and Burkes. Voldemort's pursuit of immortality is no secret. I learned his real name from a retired Auror and investigated some things about him. Tom Riddle. He once worked at Borgin and Burkes, and this book records the method of immortality known as a Horcrux."

"I guess he used it. By killing a person to split his soul and create a Horcrux, this method is very evil, but it suits his taste, doesn't it?"

Dumbledore stared intently at Ezio. After a moment, his gaze moved down to the book placed on the table.

"Your guess is correct." Dumbledore said in a deep voice. "Perhaps I shouldn't treat you as a child. Your observation of the world is sharp, and also very meticulous."

"This is the instinct of an assassin. Only by maintaining sufficient keen perception can I avoid falling off the tightrope. From the very beginning, after I learned about Harry, I didn't believe that a child still in swaddling clothes could take down a Dark Lord who made people tremble with fear. Magic is a subjective power, but magic is not omnipotent. A Dark Lord at the peak of his power—even if it were just a contest of raw magic—Harry in his swaddling clothes would not be his match. His failure must hide an unknown secret, and it was also an accident that exceeded his expectations."

"Harry is his Horcrux, right? There is something very unusual about Harry."

"So you used a fake Killing Curse on the train." Dumbledore was also very clear about what happened on the train.

"Hypothesis, deduction, and then verification. So I discovered it was true. After I confirmed Harry's unusual nature, I could be certain he is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes."

"So you approached Harry and made him choose Slytherin." Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"Yes, I don't deny that. Although meeting Harry on the train was an accident, this development is quite good, isn't it?" Ezio spread his hands and admitted it straightforwardly. Even if he didn't admit it, Dumbledore would have made such a deduction. "However, coming to Slytherin was Harry's choice; I didn't force him to make the decision. I just told him one thing: the hatred of one's parents is irreconcilable."

"Harry can bring me a lot of help because there are many people willing to help him and willing to show him kindness, while I have nothing in the wizarding world. I will seize every opportunity that can help me achieve my goal. After all, Professor Dumbledore, you don't intend to help me, do you?"

"I believe Professor Snape has already explained the situation at that time to you, but you have been on guard against me from beginning to end. I understand, so I won't force it. I can only use my own methods to accomplish what I need to accomplish. From the beginning, you hoped that I could let go of hatred and embrace something warmer, but I chose to say no. In my dictionary, there is only blood for blood."

"Some guy took the life of the family I cherished most. Even if he has no regrets about it and died as he deserved, I cannot accept his hurried departure without a goodbye."

"So, putting him in Slytherin was a correct decision." The Sorting Hat spoke slowly from the side: "Compared to Slytherin, he is a very kind and good child, Dumbledore."

As an ancient hat that has existed since the founding of Hogwarts, this sentient magical hat knows far too many things; although it can be boisterous at times, one cannot deny its vast knowledge.

"If it were Slytherin..." the Sorting Hat mused aloud, "he probably would have killed everyone who might have been capable of doing such a thing, or something else entirely, just like when he slaughtered dozens of goblin settlements back in the day just to find his lost scepter. Though, he didn't kill the wrong people; the goblins believed that scepter belonged to the goblins, not to the descendant of some wizard who had purchased it. Goblins are shameful thieves."

"What a good child he is, to not commit a massacre; he is truly too kind. I feel he has the potential for it."

"I think the thoughts Slytherin instilled in your hat are a bit too dangerous." Dumbledore glanced at the Sorting Hat and spoke softly.

"Dangerous?" the Sorting Hat asked, puzzled. "Gryffindor went along with him back then, saying they should see who could kill more. He was very keen on all sorts of competitions. Then Slytherin used a potion to trigger a massive goblin plague, and tens of thousands of goblins vanished overnight. Gryffindor lost miserably again. Otherwise, how do you think the First Goblin War broke out? It was their retaliation against wizards after the four founders had left."

Dumbledore was speechless; as a quintessential Gryffindor, he truly had no idea that the original Gryffindor had been so wild.

"Ravenclaw's Diadem was one of the reparations from the goblins after that massacre; it was given to Ravenclaw by Gryffindor, who claimed it could alleviate her headaches. It worked quite well, too."

Ezio and Dumbledore looked at each other; the things the old hat said were indeed unexpected, but not entirely unacceptable.

"Class is almost over now." Ezio glanced at the clock in the office. "I should go talk to Professor Snape now. Professor Dumbledore, would you like to come along?"

"No need, though if you have time, Ezio, you are welcome to come and chat with an old man like me."

"About Voldemort?"

"Perhaps about other matters as well."